To quell the rebellion in the civil service, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has been urged not to bow to the pressures from 'full blown Napoleons' like the inspector-general of police (IGP).

Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang said the premier cannot rid the government of 'Little Napoleons' if those like IGP Mohd Bakri Omar are allowed to set a bad example.

In a statement, the veteran politician said the police chief was guilty of "open insubordination in subverting the civilian authority of the prime minister, cabinet and parliament".

Bakri drew flak after he publicly opposed the setting up of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), which was given the green light by the premier.

The IPCMC was proposed by the Royal Police Commission - formed upon the orders of Abdullah - as a measure to improve accountability and restore public confidence in the police.

Last week, the prime minister complained about a small group of top civil servants who were trying to exert their power by delaying the implementation of the country's development projects.

"We don't want to have 'Little Napoleons' in the civil service," he had said.

Leadership crisis

Commenting further, Lim said Abdullah's castigation of 'Little Napoleons' in the civil service evoked popular response from Malaysians who had long suffered in silence.

The civil servants' "strutting insensitivities and inefficiencies" have led Malaysians to consider a visit to a government department as a worse ordeal than seeing the dentist, he added.

However, Lim pointed out that Abdullah must act to restore the people's confidence in his leadership.

"The failure of Abdullah to establish the IPCMC will mark the formal end of public hopes that the prime minister has the political will to deliver on his many pledges and reforms.

"Abdullah's biggest challenge is to restore public confidence that he is the undisputed leader of the government and not heading a rudderless administration where 'full blown Napoleons' and 'Little Napoleons' flourish and multiply and are even allowed to trespass into policy-making jurisdictions of the prime minister, cabinet and parliament," he added.

Lim said the premier could do this by announcing in categorical and no uncertain terms that his public pledge to accept the IPCMC will "brook no opposition or sabotage and that the May deadline for its establishment will be met".